page_title: Edward L. Feightner
section_title: Blue Angels
hierarchical_section_title: Edward L. Feightner / Post-war service / Blue Angels
caption_attribution_description: English: A Vought F7U-1 Cutlass used by the United States Navy's "Blue Angels" flight demonstration team. Only the F7U-1s BuNo 124426 and 124427 were flown by the Blue Angels.
context_page_description: Rear Admiral Edward Lewis Feightner was a United States Navy officer who fought in a number of significant battles in the World War II Pacific Theater of Operations. During two combat tours, he shot down nine enemy aircraft to become a flying ace.
  He was an early member of the Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron and flew the lead "solo" position. His work as a test pilot included aircraft, electronic systems, and operational tactics such as developing techniques for delivering nuclear weapons from small fighter aircraft. He commanded increasingly larger air units including VF-11 and Carrier Air Group Ten as well as training organizations that helped the Navy transition from propeller to jet aircraft. He commanded two Navy ships, served as the head of Navy Fighter Design, and was a key contributor to fighter studies that resulted in the development of jet aircraft that as of 2015 are still in active service.
  Feightner was the only pilot to land the dash-1 variant of the Vought F7U Cutlass aboard a carrier. He led VF-11 to become the first Atlantic fleet unit in which every pilot received the coveted "E" award in a single exercise.
context_section_description: In January 1952, Feightner received orders to the U.S. Navy's flight demonstration squadron—the Blue Angels. The squadron had been directed to add the Cutlass to their performance although neither Feightner nor Blue Angels commander "Butch" Voris believed the aircraft was ready for formation flying. The F7U was the Navy's first operational aircraft fitted with a hydraulic flight control system and reliability was still poor. In the event of failure, the mechanical backup system required eleven seconds before control was restored. The solution was to fly the F7Us separately from the rest of the team thereby creating the diamond and solo roles that remain to the present day. Feightner recruited former Blue Angel Lt. Harding C. "Mac" Macknight to fly the second Cutlass.
  At the start of the 1952 show season, fuel control problems grounded the team's Grumman F9F Panthers leaving the Cutlasses to put on the primary demonstration between March and June. During a show at Saufley Field in Florida, Feightner experienced a total loss of hydraulics on a full afterburner takeoff and steep climb. While trying to gain enough altitude for ejection he was able to stay with the aircraft until the back up control system engaged. He clipped trees on the end of the runway, causing the left engine to flame out. With hydraulic fluid streaming back in a bright flame, he made a hard turn and got the plane back on the runway, much to the excitement of the crowd. Feightner and Macknight performed maneuvers that showed off the best attributes of the F7U. The two solos would approach each other from opposite ends of the runway and, after passing each other, would roll the aircraft, deploy speed brakes, and light afterburners. In Feightner's opinion, "There just is not an airplane like it anywhere."
  Maintenance issues and additional near-fatal accidents put an end to Blue Angel Cutlass performances. While traveling to an airshow at Naval Air Station Glenview in Chicago, Illinois, both F7Us experienced in-flight emergencies. One of Feightner's engines failed shortly after takeoff, but before he could land, Macknight's right engine caught fire and the left engine quit soon after. Although Feightner called for him to eject, Macknight stayed with the burning aircraft and landed at Glenview. With the runway closed, Feightner was redirected to make his landing at Chicago's former Orchard Airpark, which had been expanded and renamed O'Hare Airport after Feightner's former VF-3 commander. The runway had just been completed and was covered with peach baskets to prevent aircraft from landing until it was opened. Feightner was told to ignore the baskets and land on the new runway. As a result, Feightner's F7U became the first aircraft to land on the new runway for Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. After yet another in-flight emergency resulted in a forced landing at Naval Air Station Memphis, the F7Us were given to the station's training center.
caption: Blue Angels F7U-1 Cutlass in 1952
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